X revamps revenue sharing as “Original Content Rewards,” launching September 8

Effective September 8, 2026, X will end its controversial revenue-sharing program for content creators and launch a new one, “Original Content Rewards.” According to a report by The Verge’s Terrence O’Brien on August 8, this represents a restructuring of the monetization model that has undergone multiple revisions under Elon Musk.

The eligibility requirements for the new system have been tightened. Creators must have at least 500 verified followers and have received more than 500,000 home timeline impressions from verified users over the past 90 days. These thresholds are higher than those of the previous program, and are intended to focus on active creators.

Revenue is calculated based on “eligible impressions.” These are unique impressions on the home timeline feed from X Premium subscribers, counted only when a post is displayed at least 50%. In other words, it serves as a metric that measures not just raw exposure but substantive user engagement.

Most notable is the definition of “original content.” According to X’s official guidelines, this includes videos and photos taken by the user themselves, graphics and illustrations created by the creator (including memes), as well as original reporting and analysis. Comments and reactions are also eligible for monetization, provided they constitute a “meaningful addition.” The company says the goal is to curb attempts to exploit loopholes in the system and reliance on clickbait, while rewarding truly creative activity.

Allegra Jacchia, senior product manager at SpaceXAI, said on X: “This program is designed to reward creators who bring original ideas, expertise, creativity, and unique perspectives to X, rather than those who game the system.” As a result, repurposing other content without permission or earning revenue from mere reply posts will, in theory, no longer be a source of income.

Participants in the old program can continue to receive payouts based on the previous revenue-sharing terms until September 7, 2026. This transition period reflects consideration for existing creators. X has been experimenting with monetization models for years, and this overhaul can be seen as the culmination of those efforts.

In the industry, there is a view that this change could contribute to improving the platform’s health. Raising the value of high-quality original content also helps create an environment that is attractive to advertisers. On the other hand, because the standards are strict, there are concerns that entry barriers could become even higher for individual small-scale creators.

In similar examples, as seen in the move to make LG OLED evo’s Creator Original picture mode compatible with Prime Video and Rippling’s announcement of the AI spending tracking tool “AI Spend Console”, measuring content value and providing appropriate compensation has become a new competitive axis on digital platforms. X’s latest overhaul should be understood in this context.

Editorial Opinion

In the short term, the introduction of the new system in September could bring changes to the quality of content on X. Because incentives for high-quality original content are strengthened, news, expert analysis, and creative visual content are likely to increase, while low-quality reposts and spam-like posts are expected to decline. That said, disruption during the transition period and the departure of creators unable to adapt to the new standards are also likely, which could lead to temporary imbalances in content supply. In the long term, this change could reshape the creator economy on X by prioritizing authenticity over engagement hacks. The strict eligibility criteria may lead to a consolidation of creators, with professional or semi-professional accounts dominating monetization.

References

• “X replaces its revenue-sharing program with ‘Original Content Rewards’”, by Terrence O’Brien — The Verge, 2026-08-08T21:15:12.000Z (ARR)
• Source URL: https://www.theverge.com/tech/977143/x-revenue-sharing-original-content-rewards